


The Magnificent X-Cats

by sister_wolf



Category: X-Men (Ultimateverse)
Genre: Gen, Talking Cats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-01-04
Updated: 2001-01-04
Packaged: 2017-10-12 10:23:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/123871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sister_wolf/pseuds/sister_wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Professor X's cat explains a few things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Magnificent X-Cats

**Author's Note:**

> I noticed that in Ultimate X-Men #1, Xavier has a marmalade-colored cat curled around his shoulders in the library scene, and I started thinking, what if that cat is more than just an ordinary cat? What if she's... a mutant?

My name is Magnificent. Charles normally calls me Maggie, however. He's my human. He's also the most powerful human telepath on earth. Not the most powerful telepath on earth, despite his charming delusion to the contrary. No, as far as I know, I am the most powerful telepath on earth. I'm Professor Charles Xavier's cat; at least, that is how Charles' students see the situation. I let them keep their human-centric ignorance intact. Humans are generally happiest when they believe that they are the dominant species on the planet.

Humans are so cute, don't you think?

Charles runs a school for mutants in New York State. He's been putting together a team of "X-Men", powerful mutants who will fight for his dream of peaceful mutant-human relations. His first recruits were Jean Grey and Scott Summers. Scott likes to think of himself as tough, a real leader. In fact, he's just a softy. Clearly, he needs someone to take care of him, so I've given him to my daughter Superlative (or Tiva, as she prefers.) Tiva is young, but she understands the need to protect Scott from the situations he places himself in.

I like Jean. She's mischievous and vain, very cat-like. At first I thought Tiva would be enough to protect both Jean and Scott, as they have become mates and spend nearly every moment together, but then Charles, darling man, began to send Jean out on her own to recruit new X-Men. I assigned her to my daughter Glorious (Glory), who is a good enough telepath to keep Jean from getting herself killed. That girl has no sense of self-preservation whatsoever.

I haven't explained about my daughters yet, have I? They've all inherited my intelligence and beautiful green eyes. In addition, they're all telepaths, many of them can teleport, and a few have more specialized abilities. You see, we're mutants too.

Oh, you thought only humans could be mutants? Silly human-centric. I'll bet you believe that you're the only sentient species on the planet too.

The first mutant Charles sent Jean out to find was a Henry McCoy. Glory reported back to me on their return. She described Henry as athletic and agile, yet sadly lacking in survival instincts. I decided I needed to meet Henry on my own in order to determine whether he warranted the protection of one of my daughters.

I padded softly into his room, inspecting it. His possessions seemed to consist of a laptop computer and several coffee cups. I curled my lip at the scent of coffee. I have no idea what humans see in that repulsive beverage.

"Good morning, my fine feline friend," Henry said, scratching behind my ears as I twined around his ankles. Ah, an intelligent human. My estimation of him went up by several points. So few humans understand the proper places to scratch. I purred loudly and jumped into his lap.

He continued working on his laptop, typing quickly with one enormous hand while the other scratched around the side of my head and under my chin. Purring blissfully, I read the contents of his screen. Henry appeared to be working on a scientific paper regarding the genetics of mutation. I spent a few minutes with him, then jumped down and went on my way. This human deserved a special protector. I tracked down my daughter Brilliance, who very much lives up to her name, and assigned her to Henry.

The next mutant brought in by Jean was a woman named Ororo Munroe. Apparently she'd been caged by other humans for theft. I really do not understand humans and their unhealthy obsession with owning things.

Glory let me know that they were coming in, so I was waiting in the entrance hall when Jean returned with Ororo. She was a tall human with a long silvery mane who moved as much like a cat as it is possible for a human, with their big clumsy limbs. I watched her closely, sensing wariness and distrust in her aura.

"So this is the mutant zoo, huh?" she asked.

"Not much of a zoo, really, unless you count the cats," Jean said, picking up Glory, who was twining around her ankles as if she hadn't seen her human in days.

**Good job,** I told her.

**Not a problem,** Glory replied. **Just had to keep some stupid humans from noticing her.**

Ororo shrugged. "So when do I get to meet this Professor guy?"

"Soon. Let's get you settled into your room." As they walked up the stairs, I scanned Ororo's mind. She was thinking that she didn't really buy this whole mutant superhero thing, but what the hell, at least she was out of jail and had a place to stay for a while. And when she eventually got bored and took off, well, looked like there were a lot of nice things here to steal.

She would need careful watching. I groomed myself pensively, pondering which of my daughters would be best to assign to her. She would need to be extremely alert and a master of stealth. Every hair on my ears was sparkling with cleanliness by the time I made my decision. It would have to be my wayward daughter Mysterious.

I scanned the Mansion for Mysterious. No sign of her. Typical of her; she likes to wander. Eventually I tracked her down in a nearby town, stealing shrimp from a restaurant.

**Mysterious,** I sent, and waited a few minutes for her reply. No answer. **Mysterious, this is your mother. Don't think that I can't box your ears anymore like I did when you were a kitten.**

Finally, a mutinous **…** indicated that she was listening.

**I've found a human for you. **

**I don't need a human. And my name is Myst, not Mysterious, mother.**

**Why you and your sisters feel the need to abbreviate your perfectly good names is beyond me. At any rate, I've found a human who is absolutely perfect for you. She's a thief.**

**And? There are lots of human thieves in the world, mother.**

**She moves like a cat.** I sent her a mental image of Ororo.

**Interesting.** A few minutes of silence. **I might stop by and look at her. When I get the time. Just out of curiosity, you understand.**

**Of course, dear.** I licked my whiskers triumphantly. My rebellious daughter would return, and she would be unable to resist claiming Ororo. Everything was falling into place.

The next mutant to arrive was a large metal-smelling male named Peter. He seemed like a dog person to me, so I didn't bother assigning him one of my daughters.

I was curled around the neck of my darling Charles when Scott brought the newly assembled team in to meet him. Unbeknownst to the humans, my daughters Tiva, Glory, Brilliance, and Myst accompanied them. As Ororo, Henry, and Peter asked questions of Charles, I had a short conference with my daughters.

**Brilliance, how are things working out with Henry?**

My tiny, grey-furred daughter replied enthusiastically, **I've been assisting him with his research into mutant genetics. He's really quite intelligent for a human.**

**Wonderful. Tiva, have you been keeping an eye on Scott?**

**Yes, mother. I've been helping him to refine his tactical combat plans.** Tiva replied, her glossy brown coat in perfect order and her posture straight and almost military. I congratulated myself on my choice of protector for Charles' field marshal.

**Glory, how are things with Jean?**

Glory flicked one bright orange ear offhandedly. **No problems, mom. I can handle any stupid humans she runs into.**

At last, I turned my eyes to my midnight-black furred daughter. **Myst, anything to report?**

**No.**

**Are you and your human getting along?**

**For the last time, mother, she is not my human. I'm only hanging around 'cause she's interesting to watch.**

I sighed. **Very well. Charles is about to send them on their first mission, to rescue a young boy in New York City. I want all of you ready for battle. You may very well run into Sentinels. Be prepared.**

As the X-Men and my daughters left for the city, I shared Charles' fear for their welfare. He kept the Cerebro helmet on so that he could monitor their progress from afar. I eased his anxiety as best I could, purring soothingly, curled around his neck.

Through Cerebro, Charles and I watched as the X-Men successfully located the boy, in a bus in Times Square. Glory noticed the approaching Sentinels first and nudged Jean mentally to look that way. My heart fairly burst with pride as I watched my tiny daughter Brilliance clinging steadfastly to Henry as he leapt aboard the bus.

Ororo, afraid that she did not have enough control over her power and would injure innocent bystanders, protested Scott's order for her to assist him in fighting off the Sentinels. Tiva ordered, **Myst, help her control it.**

**Got it,** Myst replied, and two Sentinels fell under the force of Ororo's lightning.

My heart leapt into my throat as I saw a Sentinel pick up Scott. Tiva was wrapped securely around his neck and would die too if the Sentinel crushed them in its enormous hand. Tiva, however, was perfectly calm, secure in her human's ability to destroy the monstrous robot. I and Charles breathed a sigh of relief as Scott's eyebeams destroyed the head of the Sentinel, and then simultaneously gasped as the giant robot began to topple backwards toward the crowds below.

I heard an unfamiliar, childish voice cry, **You can do it, Bobby!** and suddenly the Sentinel was encased in a thick coating of ice, keeping it from falling over and crushing several hundred people.

**Who was that?** Tiva demanded.

**Was that you?** Brilliance asked. I looked through her eyes and saw a small, bedraggled looking kitten, clinging to the boy's coat.

**Ummm… yeah,** the kitten answered shyly.

**I don't even believe this,** Glory interrupted. **We just saved these stupid humans and now they're throwing stuff at us!**

**Humans suck,** Myst replied. **However, several of those humans have just lost their wallets.**

**Did you just steal from those humans?** Tiva demanded.

**Yeah, and don't give me any grief for it either. They were the ones throwing bottles at the kid. It's less than they deserve.**

As the X-Men flew home with their new charge, my daughters clustered around the kitten at the back of the transport. It looked up at them with huge eyes and sneezed.

**Oh, you poor thing,** said Glory. **Come here, honey, I'll give you a bath.** As she licked the bedraggled kitten clean, it became clear that the fur that had seemed dingy grey was in fact white under all the dirt. **What's your name, sweetheart?**

**Don't have one.**

Brilliance exclaimed, **You don't even have a name! That's awful! Didn't your mother name you?**

**Mama died. Mama died a long time ago. I wandered around for a long time. Then I found Bobby. He's my person. He shared his food with me.**

**Well, you need a name,** Glory said decisively. **Your fur is so pretty and white… Snowflake.**

**Snowflake?** Myst said dubiously.

**It is a most appropriate name,** Brilliance defended.

**What do you think?** Tiva asked the kitten.

**I think…** It yawned hugely. **I think that's a good name…** Its voice drifted off as it fell asleep.

**Well, sisters, we've successfully defended our humans on their first mission,** Tiva said proudly.

**Just call us the Amazing X-Cats,** Glory said flippantly.

**I think Magnificent X-Cats would be more appropriate,** Brilliance said.

**Hmmm…. Yes, I agree.** Tiva said.

**Me too. What about you, Myst?** Glory asked.

I held my breath.

**I think… I think that works.** Myst answered.

Tears sprang to my eyes as I purred until my ribs ached. My daughters had named their team… for me!

Charles took off the Cerebro helmet and relaxed back into his wheelchair, smiling happily. "A good day, Maggie. A good day indeed."

And as the X-Men and the X-Cats sped home, Charles and I shared a triumphant toast to their success: Charles, with a glass of Perrier, and myself, with a saucer of milk.


End file.
